Expandable stand

ABSTRACT

An expandable stand is provided to accommodate televisions of different sizes. The expandable stand includes a fixed frame to support the television, shelves for electronic components or other items, an expandable top, and a rear panel which may include a box to hide electrical wires and cables.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/939,899, filed Sep. 13, 2004.

REFERENCE REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

SEQUENTIAL LISTING

Not applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to furniture and, moreparticularly, to a television stand which may be expanded to accommodatemany differently sized televisions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Televisions come in many different sizes. Varying screen sizes andshapes and chassis sizes necessitate different television stand sizes toaccommodate each of the differently sized televisions. A manufacturer oftelevision stands must produce several different sizes and must be awareof new television screen and chassis sizes and configurations offered bythe television manufacturers. Additionally, a retailer of television ortelevision stands must stock many different stands for the differenttelevision models. If a television model is discontinued, the retailerand manufacturer of the corresponding television stand may be left withexcess television stands. Manufacturers and retailers may offeruniversal or “one-size-fits-all” television stands which avoid theproblem of stocking many differently sized television stands and theassociated risk of having a surplus of obsolete television stands.However, the customer who buys a universal stand often must settle on anill-fitting stand that doesn't match the television.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a television stand which is expandable toaccommodate differently sized televisions to provide a custom fit standfor the television. The stand includes a fixed top and an expandable topwhich are attached to a frame. The expandable top may be adjusted tomatch the size of the television. A horizontal front panel is sized tomatch the width of the expandable top and is attached to the frame. Ahorizontal front panel is sized to match the width of the expandable topand vertical leg panels. Additional horizontal front panels may beincluded to create numerous widths matching the intervals of theexpandable top and vertical leg panels. Vertical leg panels are alignedwith the horizontal front rail and expandable top and attached to theframe. Vertical leg panels are also adjustable matching the intervals ofthe expandable top. One or more shelves may be included with the standalong with a wire management system which hides the electrical wires andcables of electronic components such as VCRs, DVD players, receivers andspeakers which may be set on the shelves and interfaced with thetelevision or other components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the expandable stand of the presentinvention showing ranges of expansion;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the frame components of theexpandable stand of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an assembled frame of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the expandable top, horizontalfront rails and vertical leg panels and the frame of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a cable management component.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the expandable stand of the present invention isgenerally indicated by reference numeral 10. Expandable stand 10includes a fixed top 12, side frame members 14 and 16, a back panel 18,left and right expandable top members 20 and 22, a horizontal frontpanel 24, vertical leg panels 26 and 28, and shelves 30 and 32.

Fixed top 12 generally has a trapezoid shape to generally match theshape of a chassis of a television (not shown). Fixed top 12 may be madeof any suitable material such as a composition wood sheet, plywood, orsynthetic material, for example.

Side frame members 14 and 16 include identical components and thus willbe described only for side frame member 14. Side frame member 14includes a pair of upright legs 34 and 36 and horizontal rails 38 and40. Upright legs 34 and 36 and horizontal rails 38 and 40 may beconstructed of square or round steel or aluminum tubing, for example,and may be welded, bolted or otherwise fastened together to form therigid side frame member 14. The rear upright leg 36 is fastened to theback panel 18. The fixed top is secured to the upright legs 34 and 36 ofeach frame member 14 and 16 at the corners and to the back panel 18using screws or other fasteners, for example, to form the base framegenerally indicated by reference numeral 42. Base frame 42 is a rigid,sturdy frame which may be structurally sufficient to support a broadrange of television sizes and weights.

The expandable top members 20 and 22 may be attached to the fixed top 12using screws or other fasteners. The width of the top (indicated bydimension 44) is adjusted to match the width of a television (not shown)before the expandable top members 20 and 22 are secured to the fixed top12. Fixed top 12 may include pre-drilled holes 46. Expandable topmembers 20 and 22 may include two rows of a plurality of pre-drilledholes 48 and 50, respectively. The rows are spaced apart to match thefront to rear spacing of the holes 46 in the fixed top 12. Theindividual holes in the rows of holes 48 and 50 are laterally spaced atpredetermined intervals which correspond to the standard widths oftelevision, such as 28″, 32″, 36″, 42″, 46″, 50″, 61″, for example, toname a few.

After the width of the television to be used with the expandable stand10 is determined, the expandable top members 20 and 22 may be secured tothe fixed top 12 at a matching width 44 corresponding to the width ofthe television. The horizontal front panel 24 may be cut to the samewidth 44 and secured to the front of the frame 42 flush with the topsurface of the expandable top members 20 and 22 to hide the gap 52between the members 20 and 22. A plurality of horizontal front panels 24may be provided with the expandable stand 10, one of each correspondingto a standard width of a television such as 28″, 32″, 36″, 42″, 46″, 50″and 61″, for example, so that the horizontal front panel 24 does nothave to be cut to size to match the width 44 of the expandable topmembers 20 and 22. The vertical leg panels 26 and 28 may be secured tothe upright legs 34 of the side frame members 14 and 16, respectively,using screws or other fasteners. Side frame members 14 and 16 mayinclude pre-drilled holes. Vertical leg panels may include two rows of aplurality of pre-drilled holes. The two rows of holes are spaced atpredetermined intervals, which correspond with the expandable topintervals. Glass shelves 30 and 32 may be placed across the horizontalrails 38 and 40 to support other electronic components (not shown), forexample.

Referring to FIG. 5, back panel 18 may be configured to hide wires andcabling of any electronic components situated on the shelves 30 and 32.Back panel 18 includes a front panel 54, sides 56 and 58, a bottom panel60, and a removable rear panel 62. When assembled together the membersof the back panel 18 form an open-top box. Front panel 54 includes upper64 and lower 66 apertures which are spaced to be above the shelves 30and 32. Wires and cabling from electronic components and equipment maybe passed through the apertures 64 and 66 so that the wires are hiddenfrom view from the front of the expandable stand 10. Removable rearpanel 62 includes a notch 68 through which electrical cords may bepassed to provide power to the components and which may be used to openthe removable rear panel 62. When all of the components and thetelevision are wired together, all of the wires may be arranged in theback panel 18 and the removable rear panel 62 put in place to hide thewires from view.

1. An expandable television stand, comprising: a top member secured toan upright leg, a horizontal rail, and a rear member having an aperturetherethrough to form a frame; and an expandable member adjustablysecured to the frame, wherein the expandable member is adjustable to awidth corresponding to a width of a television to be supported by theexpandable member via a plurality of laterally spaced holes.
 2. Theexpandable television stand of claim 1, wherein the top member has afirst width and a second width.
 3. The expandable television stand ofclaim 2, wherein the rear member has a first width.
 4. The expandabletelevision stand of claim 3, wherein the first width of the rear memberis less than at least one of the first width or the second width of thetop member.
 5. The expandable television stand of claim 1, furthercomprising a shelf.
 6. The expandable television stand of claim 1,wherein a pair of expandable members is secured to the top member.
 7. Anexpandable television stand, comprising: a top member supported by andsecured in direct contact with a rear member and an upright leg; and apair of expandable members secured above the top member, wherein theexpandable members are adjustable to a width corresponding to a width ofa television to be supported by the expandable members.
 8. Theexpandable television stand of claim 7, further comprising a horizontalrail secured to the upright leg.
 9. The expandable television stand ofclaim 8, further comprising a shelf disposed beneath the top member. 10.The expandable television stand of claim 9, wherein the shelf issupported by the horizontal rail.
 11. The expandable television stand ofclaim 7, wherein the upright leg is secured to the rear member.
 12. Theexpandable television stand of claim 7, wherein the expandable membersare secured to the top member.
 13. An expandable television stand,comprising: a fixed width top member secured to a pair of side members;a rear member comprising a front panel with an aperture therethrough anda pair of side panels; and a pair of expandable members adjustablysecured above the top member, wherein the expandable members areadjustable to a width corresponding to a width of a television to besupported by the expandable members.
 14. The expandable television standof claim 13, further including a plurality of holes through the fixedwidth top member.
 15. The expandable television stand of claim 14,wherein the expandable members further comprise a plurality of holestherethrough that correspond to standard widths of televisions.
 16. Theexpandable television stand of claim 15, wherein the expandable membersare detachably secured to the fixed width top member by way of theplurality of holes.
 17. The expandable television stand of claim 15,wherein the standard widths of televisions comprise at least one of 28inches, 32 inches, 36 inches, 42 inches, 46 inches, 50 inches, and 61inches.
 18. The expandable television stand of claim 13, wherein thefixed width top member has a generally trapezoid shape.
 19. Theexpandable television stand of claim 13, wherein the rear member furthercomprises a bottom panel, and a removable rear panel with a notchtherein to form an open topped box.
 20. The expandable television standof claim 13, further comprising first and second glass shelves disposedbeneath the fixed width top surface and supported by horizontal rails ofthe side members.